This workshop builds on an online symposium held in June 2021. During the meeting, two talks by Sheila Liming and Kathryn Roberts will add historical and theoretical perspectives on literary institutions in the United States. In addition, the meeting will include a reading group discussion on recent work in the field.

The event will be streamed live from the JFK Institute via Cisco Webex. Please RSVP via email to both Alexander Starre and Florian Sedlmeier by October 13 and indicate whether you’re interested in attending the talks, the reading group, or both. Registered participants will receive the login information shortly before the event.

Hosted by the Department of Literature and the Department of Culture, in cooperation with EXC2020, Research Area 1: "Competing Communities"

Schedule

Thursday, October 14

15:00 h: Florian Sedlmeier and Alexander Starre: Welcome and Introduction

15:15-16:15 h: Kathryn Roberts: “Symbiotic American Literary Institutions: the MacDowell Colony and the Middlebrow.”

16:15-16:30 h: Break

16:30-17:30 h: Sheila Liming: “Owning the Apparatus: American Book Collectors, Racine, and the Fetishization of France”

Friday, October 15

10-12 h: Reading Group: Recent Critical Texts on Literary Institutions

12-14 h: Lunch Break

14-16 h: Closed Meeting